Reverend Insanity

Chapter Four: Gu Yue Fang Yuan!

The morning sun rose, casting brilliant rays of light.

The mountain mist was not very thick, easily pierced by the sword-like sunlight.

Over a hundred fifteen-year-old youths gathered in front of the Clan Leader's Pavilion.

The Pavilion stood at the very center of the village, towering five stories high with upturned eaves, heavily guarded. In front of the Pavilion was a plaza, and inside the Pavilion, the ancestral tablets of the Gu Yue family were enshrined. Each generation's clan leader lived here, and it was the place for major ceremonies and urgent meetings. It was the power center of the entire village.

"Very good, everyone is here on time. Today is the Awakening Ceremony, a significant turning point in your lives. No need for idle talk, follow me." The elder in charge, the academy elder, led the youths into the Pavilion.

However, they did not go upstairs but descended through the entrance hall to an underground cave.

The youths gasped in awe. The underground cave was magnificent, with stalactites emitting seven-colored light, illuminating their faces with a rainbow-like brilliance.

Fang Yuan, amidst the crowd, quietly observed everything, contemplating, "Hundreds of years ago, the Gu Yue family migrated from the central plains to the southern border and settled in Qing Mao Mountain. They chose this place for its underground spiritual spring. This spring produces a large amount of primeval stones, the foundation of the Gu Yue village."

After walking several hundred steps, it grew darker, and they could faintly hear the sound of water.

Turning a corner, they were greeted by a wide underground river.

The colorful glow of the stalactites had completely vanished.

However, in the darkness, the river water emitted a faint blue glow, resembling a starry river in the night sky.

The water flowed from the depths of the cave, crystal clear, revealing swimming fish, aquatic plants, and riverbed sand and stones.

On the other side of the river was a sea of flowers.

These were Gu Yue family's deliberately cultivated Moon Orchids. Their petals, shaped like crescent moons, were a delicate blue-pink. The flower stems were jade-like, and the hearts glowed softly, resembling pearls under light.

In the darkness, the flower sea looked like a vast blue-green carpet dotted with countless pearls.

"Moon Orchids are the food of many Gu insects. This flower sea is the family's largest cultivation base." Fang Yuan knew this well.

"So beautiful."

"Truly splendid."

The youths were wide-eyed, both excited and nervous.

"Alright, listen to me now. When I call your name, cross the river to the other side. Go as far as you can; the further, the better. Did you all understand?" The elder said.

"Yes," the youths responded in unison. They had heard from their families or elders that the further they walked, the better their talent, and the greater their future achievements.

"Gu Yue Chen Bo," the elder called the first name from the list.

Though the river was wide, it was not deep, only reaching the youths' knees. Chen Bo, with a serious expression, stepped into the flower sea on the riverbank.

Immediately, he felt an invisible pressure, as if an unseen wall was blocking his way.

Struggling to advance, a cluster of light points suddenly rose from the flower sea at his feet, faint and white.